Tag: Influence

You may be familiar with the cliché that leadership is about influence and not title. I believe this applies to purpose too. As you pursue God’s purpose for your life, it is expected that your influence grows as the sphere of your impact increases. But then, I think it is necessary to point out that influence really is an inevitable consequence of our social existence. Whether or not we live for God’s purposes, we will have some influence on the people around us. I recently read the story of a man who once dreamed that he was in hell. When asked to give an account of what he had seen—if there were flames there, and suffering there, and wrecked and malign creatures with whom he had to associate, and if the place resounded with oaths of blasphemy—he said, “Yes, but there was something far worse than that: I was compelled to face my influence. I knew that I deserved punishment, for I had scorned and rejected Jesus Christ; but my sorest pain was to see what the effect of my life had been upon others.”

It is important therefore, that we understand the dynamics of influence so that we can be intentional about the positivity of our influence and the purposefulness of our impact. Someone narrated the story of the missionary Dr. John Geddie who went to Aneityum in 1848 and worked there for 24 years. On the tablet erected to his memory, it was inscribed that “When he landed, in 1848, there were no Christians. When he left, in 1872, there were no heathen.” That is the kind of influence God expects from our lives and such can only be cultivated with intentionality.

I want to share very briefly some thoughts on how I believe we can grow our influence intentional. There are at least three things we must do to be able to lead purposefully and with greater influence.

CLARIFY YOUR MESSAGE

Someone has observed that the opinion of each of us represents at least one four-billionth of the world’s opinion. What this means is that what we say has the potential to become the reality a large number of people. This is why we must be intentional about the message we preach in the pursuit of our purposes. What is your message? What is the transformation you expect to happen by the sound of your voice?

CREATE YOUR PLATFORM

There are several reasons why this point is important. The word platform itself is a metaphor for a stage on which you are elevated above the crowd. It makes it possible for everyone in the audience to see you and be influenced by you. Thus, a platform provides visibility and helps to amplify your voice above the roar of the crowd. If you will become a person of positive influence, you have to intentionally create a platform by seeking to understand the various ways you can reach out to your target audience. Today, the social media is a very powerful for influencing people.

COMMUNICATE YOUR MESSAGE

It is not enough to clarify your message and create a platform for you to share your message, it is important that you crown the process with consistent effort to communicate your message. You have to be decisive about this. Don’t create a blog and never write. Don’t open a twitter account and never tweet. You have to be disciplined enough to commit yourself to consistently communicating your message on the platform you have created.

Bobby Gilstrap rightly instructs us to never minimize the power of influence for either good or evil for long after we are dead and gone, our influence will live on. This is the more reason why we have to be intentional about clarifying our message, creating a platform and consistently communicating our messages. I’ll close with the following poem. Its source is unknown. I hope you find it as instructive as I did:

My life shall touch a dozen lives before this day is done; Leave countless marks for good or ill, ere sets the evening sun. This is the wish I always wish, the prayer I always pray: Lord, may my life help other lives it touches by the way.

Blessed?

Let me know in the comment section.

You matter to me always.

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When Jesus was going to start out his ministry, scripture tells us about how he chose 12 men who left their established lives to follow Him. Later, Peter the most outspoken of the 12 expressed their concern when he said they had left all to follow Jesus and asked what they would get in return.

How can a leader command such a great influence that people leave all that they have and pursue his vision? How can a leader make such a difference in the lives of people that enables them develop so much confidence in him to the extent of being willing to jump into the fire for his sake?

The pursuit of purpose is a matter of leadership. We always have to lead people as we live out the purpose of our lives. If we will lead with greater influence, the people we lead must have confidence in our leadership. But how can we make this happen? These are a few thoughts:

1. Communicate the vision

When I served in my campus fellowship, one of our first meetings after a new tenure is inaugurated is what is called “Make it Plain.” The new president shares the vision God has put in his heart for the fellowship. He shares what will be the direction of the fellowship for the next one year. This meeting is usually very strategic. The leader must be as clear as possible as misconception can affect the pursuit of the vision. As a leader, you must learn to communicate your vision clearly and constantly. It is good to make the vision plain at the start of the project but it is best to share the vision regularly. I love how Michael Hyatt puts it: People can’t read your mind. Leaders should speak up and speak often.

2. Model integrity

People are most influenced by who they trust. The key to gaining their trust is constantly modeling oneness in what you think, say and do. Don’t say what you don’t mean. Douglas Adams observed that to give real service, you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.
The disciples followed Jesus wholeheartedly because he modelled integrity. He was the same in Jerusalem, Judah and Bethany. Scripture describes the things Jesus began to do and to teach. This was his style of leadership. Before he taught anything, he did it.

3. Represent selflessness

Leadership expert and author, John Maxwell is commonly known as the person who said people don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care. This is an apt observation about what you must do to lead with greater influence. Lead selflessly. Leadership is service. Doing purpose makes you a servant to humanity not a boss of other people. If you don’t understand this, you can’t lead with more influence and command a following that is enthusiastic about your vision. You have to learn to think of yourself less. Life must not revolve around you. It has to be about serving God and providing solutions that attract societal gratitude.

In J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, the dwarfs gathered to go up against Smaug, the fierce dragon, to retrieve their stolen treasure. In spite of the dangerously frightening quest, Balin, the dwarfs’ second-in-command, expressed confidence in Thorin: “There is one I could follow. There is one I could call King.” His commitment to the mission, as dangerous as it was, was empowered by his confidence in his leader.

Your leadership will be more impactful if the people you lead have greater confidence in you. What will you do today to gain the confidence of those you lead? How can you communicate your vision more clearly? How well have you been modelling integrity? Who comes first in your organization, you or the people you lead?

I call you blessed!

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David the son of Jesse is undoubtedly one of the greatest kings in ancient Israel. He was known as the man after God’s heart. He led the people with integrity and compassion. Scripture says David served God’s purpose in his generation. I believe there is a lot we can learn from David’s story as we do our purpose especially as regards our relationship with people as we lead them to execute out God-given vision.

For instance, scripture talks about how some men who were regarded as misfits, outcasts and vagabonds came to him at the cave of Adullam. At the end, David transformed these men into mighty men who killed giants and recorded great exploits. I believe the key to David’s success with these people was his ability to lead them from his heart. Let’s break this down into bits.

1. He believed in their potentials.

There was no way David could have influenced those men as much as he did without having faith in them. David constantly gave them challenges to conquer. He constantly told them how much faith he had in them. One day, his people told him how afraid they were to take on a challenge, instead of talking down on them, David went back to God to get an assurance of victory and thereby inspired the people to place a demand on their own potentials. (1 Samuel 23:1-6)

People will perform a lot better if we learn to see their potentials and believe in their capacity to do great things.

2. He committed to helping them grow.

David committed to helping his people get better. He saw their potentials and committed himself to cultivating them. He organized his forces and appointed captains of thousands. He did not make himself the only captain. He empowered others to lead by helping them grow. (2 Sam. 18:1-3)

A lot of people will do better with a little push. You can make a great impact on people if you learn to sow seeds to help them. Supply them with resources and encouragement. Make their growth your priority.

3. He celebrated their role in his journey.

David never underrated the role those men played in his journey to the throne. Even when the men were too tired and could not join the battle, David gave them proceeds from the plunder as if they had fought with him. He recognised the successes they had experienced together in the past. (1 Sam. 30:23-25)

Are there friends, mentors or colleagues who have sowed great seeds that benefit you? Wouldn’t it be great to tell them how much they mean to you once in a while?

There is a story about a famous organist in the 1800s that illustrates the importance of recognizing valuable partnerships. The musician travelled from town to town holding concerts. In each town, he hired a boy to pump the organ during the concert. After one particular performance, he didn’t even shake the boy. Still, the boy followed the organist to his hotel.

“We sure had a great concert tonight, didn’t we?” said the boy.
“What do you mean ‘we’?” said the musician. “I had a great concert. Now why don’t you go home?”

The next night when the organist was halfway through a magnificent fugue, the organ suddenly stopped. The organist was stupefied. Then suddenly, the little boy stuck his head around the corner of the organ, grinned, and said, “We ain’t having a very good concert tonight, are we?”

To effectively do purpose, you must understand that your purpose is only a piece of the whole puzzle. Doing purpose is a people business. If you cannot believe in people, commit to helping them grow and be willing to celebrate them as their growth affects your pursuit, then, your impact will be little and you certainly cannot have a great concert!

What other ways can we maximise the gifts of the awesome people around us? Please share your thoughts. Leave a comment.

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AimPurpose IfeOluwa

I am young man born of God, spiced with an aroma of intelligence and an emerging leader of young people.
I believe in the beauty of God in you and it will be my greatest pleasure to watch you manifest that beauty as I help you find your purpose and maximize your potentials in the pursuit of your life assignment.
I write daily on my Whatsapp and Facebook based platform, JustPurposeDaily and blog here weekly. My goal is to help you live a meaningful and fulfilling life to the glory of God and for the betterment of the human society.
I am also a legal practitioner with particular interest in ridding our society of crime by helping criminals forge meanings that allow them become useful rather than dependent on the society. I hope to eradicate lawlessness from our society by providing purpose coaching services in the public prosecution and defence sector of the legal profession.
I love to read, write and speak on matters of deep spirituality and Kingdom inspired societal transformation.
You can follow me on Twitter @aimpurpose and on Facebook via AimPurpose IfeOluwa.
Email: justpurposeinfo@gmail.com